Voluminous non-woven fabric

ABSTRACT

A voluminous non-woven fabric that has a textured yarn shot through it, at least in one preferential direction, where an endless filament and/or staple fiber non-woven fabric with a mass per unit area of 5 to 100 g/m 2  has a textured multifilament yarn with a titer in the range of 10 to 400 dtex shot through it, and where the distance of the multifilament yarns from one another is 1 to 10/cm, and the mesh number is 0.5 to 8/cm, and the multifilament yarn threads are shrunk by 3 to 80%, using moist-thermal or wet-thermal treatment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The invention relates to a voluminous non-woven fabric that has atextured yarn shot through it, at least in one preferential direction.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] Cloths made of non-woven fabric, with a mass per unit area ofabout 25 to 50 g/m², are known from the document U.S. Pat. No.4,623,576; they possess good absorption properties and are particularlyintended for wiping up oil, food residues, or wiping off electronicparts. Absorbent wiping cloths made of non-woven fabrics for one-timeuse (disposables) are used in the hygiene, cosmetics, and medicalsectors, and are made either of so-called air-laid non-woven fabrics orof non-woven fabrics entangled using jets of water. They are oftenimpregnated with fluids that contain skin-care substances.

[0005] Air-laid non-woven fabrics are understood to be those non-wovenfabrics whose fiber components are uniformly mixed with one another inan air stream, and deposited on a screen. The components of such anair-laid non-woven fabric have relatively short fibers. In thisconnection, dusts and components with a fibrid structure, such ascellulose and/or synthesis pulp (viscose staple fiber) are also used, atleast in part. Bonding of the air-laid non-woven fabric to produce astructural integrity that is suitable for use is performed using theknown methods of adhesive bonding using polymer dispersion and/or theuse of hot-melt fibers or adhesive fibers. A disadvantage of thesenon-woven fabrics composed of short fibers is that when using acomparable amount of binder as in carded non-woven fabrics, the strengthobtained is clearly lower. Air-laid non-woven fabrics that are used aswiping cloths in hygiene, cosmetics, or medical applications demonstratesignificant disadvantages with regard to their softness and feel, evenin the moist state, because of their similarity to paper, in terms ofprocess technology, and, in particular, if high proportions of cellulosefibers are used.

[0006] The second class of absorbent non-woven fabrics for absorptionand wiping purposes are those whose fibers were generally entangledfully free of binder, exclusively using high-pressure water jets, i.e.hydrodynamically. Fiber materials used here are mixtures of hydrophilicfibers, such as viscose rayon, lyocell, cotton, viscose staple fiber,and fully synthetic fibers, such as polyester or polypropylene. Theabsorbent non-woven fabrics do possess very great structural integrity(strength), but only a slight material thickness, in other words a highmaterial density, and, connected with this, a low absorption capacityper mass per unit area. For the air-laid non-woven fabrics andhydraulically entangled non-woven fabrics as described, it is known toprovide their surface with a certain texture, but nevertheless thesenon-woven fabrics demonstrate only a relatively flat, two-dimensionalstructure for use as wiping cloths in hygiene or medical applications.In particular, when used for a wiping process for the removal of dirtparticles, such as wiping excrements off human skin, for example, theseparticles are merely shifted around on the surface and not absorbed bythe wiping cloth.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] It is an object of the invention to provide a voluminousnon-woven fabric that demonstrates very good sensory properties andtextility both with regard to softness and drapability, even in thenon-fluid-absorbent state.

[0008] This and other objects of the invention are achieved by avoluminous non-woven fabric that has a textured yarn shot through it inat least one preferential direction, where an endless filament and/orstaple fiber non-woven fabric with a mass per unit area of 5 to 100 g/m²has a textured multifilament yarn with a titer in the range of 10 to 400dtex shot through it, where the distance of the multifilament yarns fromone another is 1/cm to 10/cm, and the mesh number is 0.5/cm to 8/cm, andthe multifilament yarn threads are shrunk by 3 to 80%, usingmoist-thermal or wet-thermal treatment. The length reduction of themultifilament yarn in the non-woven fabric through which it is shot isbrought about by supersaturated steam or by hot air streams, wherelow-contact or contact-free shrinkage conditions are chosen, if at allpossible. Furthermore, the basic non-woven fabric can have yarn shotthrough it both in the machine direction (warp direction) and in thecrosswise direction (weft direction). Textured multifilament yarns canbe used in both directions. For cost reasons, however, it isadvantageous to use textured multifilament yarns only in the onepreferential direction, and to use non-textured multifilament yarns oreven more cost-effective monofilaments in the other direction. However,particularly voluminous structures are achieved only with texturedmultifilament yarns shot through absorbent non-woven fabrics in the warpdirection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The present invention will be described in greater detail withreference to the following drawings wherein:

[0010]FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a voluminous non-wovenfabric according to the present invention,

[0011]FIG. 2 is a cross-section of a non-woven fabric according to thepresent invention, along Line A-A of FIG. 1, on a larger scale, and

[0012]FIG. 3 is a cross-section of a voluminous non-woven fabric with anasymmetrical undulation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] The voluminous non-woven fabric according to the presentinvention demonstrates a wave-like buckled structure and therefore aridge and groove shape of the surface structure formed as a result,thereby improving the wiping effect and the dirt holding capacity,particularly between the ridges. An absorbent disposable cloth that issoft and flexible and expandable in at least one direction is produced,which has a high level of structural integrity in spite of its highabsorption capacity.

[0014] Preferably, the voluminous non-woven fabric is one in which anendless filament and/or staple fiber non-woven fabric with a mass perunit area of 7 to 60 g/m² has a textured multifilament yarn with a titerin the range of 30 to 300 dtex shot through it, where the distance ofthe multifilament fibers from one another is 3/cm to 7/cm, and the meshnumber is 0.5 to 4 per cm, and where the multifilament yarn threads havebeen shrunk by 5 to 60%, using moist-thermal or wet-thermal treatment.If textured yarns are shot through in a preferential direction, thissimultaneously means an area shrinkage in this preferential direction.At a 90° angle to this preferential direction, no shrinkage occurs.However, if textured yarns are shot through in both directions, theirlength reduction in the warp and weft direction is determined by thenumber of yarns in the preferential direction per length or width unit,their total titer, their degree of texture, and their chemicalcomposition.

[0015] Mesh number is understood to mean the number of stitches (needlestitches) in the warp direction. The warp-worked yarns are preferablystructured to be linear. However, they can also be sewn in in zig-zagshape in the warp direction.

[0016] The raschel-worked absorbable non-woven fabrics are subsequentlysubjected to a shrinkage process, in such a manner that the non-wovenfabric itself does not experience any area reduction, rather thetextured yarns that are shot through only experience a shortening oftheir expanse. This results in a partial re-orientation of theabsorbable non-woven fabric into the third dimension. The preferentialdirection of the textured yarns determines the geometry of thethree-dimensional structure, as does the fact whether these yarns areshot through in two preferential directions.

[0017] The textured multifilament yarns can be made of the same or twodifferent homofilaments or bicomponent filaments. Possible polymermaterials for the textured threads are all of those that are in keepingwith the state of the art, such as polyamide 6, polyamide 6.6,polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, copolyesters ofmany different compositions, mono- or multicomponent polyolefins and/orpolyolefins catalyzed with metallocene. Likewise, biodegradablethermoplastics, such as polyester amides or copolyesters based onterephthalic acid and adipinic acid, with aliphatic and cycloaliphaticdiols, such as those described in WO 96/255446, German Patent 44 40 858,and German Patent 195 185, can be used as the basis for the texturedyarns.

[0018] Such a non-woven fabric has proven to be particularly soft andflexible, whereby a wiping cloth that demonstrates a high absorptioncapacity and a high level of structural integrity is obtained.

[0019] A voluminous non-woven fabric in which an endless filament and/orstaple fiber non-woven fabric with a mass per unit area of 10 to 40 g/m²is provided with a bonding pattern that covers part of the surface,covering 2 to 35% of the surface, and with a multifilament yarn, wherethe multifilament yarn threads are shrunk by 8 to 35%, is especiallypreferred. The bonding over part of the surface can be brought about byheat and pressure, by ultrasound bonding, or by adhesive bonding, usingrotogravure or screen printing. In an especially preferred embodiment ofthe invention, needle-punched non-woven fabrics are used as the basicsurface, where hydrodynamic entangling with high-pressure water jets, ascompared with mechanical needle-punching using a needle loom, ispreferred.

[0020] It is advantageous if the voluminous non-woven fabric is onewhere the bonding pattern that covers part of the surface covers 4 to25% of the surface. This results in very good structural integrity.

[0021] A voluminous non-woven fabric in which the titer of the fibersand/or filaments of the non-woven fabric being used lies between 0.05and 4.4 dtex, where up to 20% by weight of the fibers and/or filamentscan have a coarser titer than 4.4 dtex, subject to the condition thatthe arithmetically determined average of the fiber and/or filament titerof all the fibers and/or filaments in the non-woven fabric does notexceed 4.4 dtex, is especially preferred. In the case of fiber and/orfilament titers below 0.8 dtex, these are fibers or filaments that wereproduced using the so-called melt-blown process, or so-calledmulticomponent split fibers, which have a titer of more than 0.8 dtexbefore splitting, and a fraction of that titer after splitting.Splitting preferably takes place using high-pressure water jets.However, splitting can also take place using a mechanical softening ormicrocrepe process (micrex), as described in the document EP 0 624 676,or using treatment with hot steam or hot water, in accordance with themethods explained in the document U.S. Pat. No. 5,759,926 for spunnon-woven fabrics or in accordance with the methods explained in thedocument EP 0 864 006 for microfiber melt-blown filaments. Thehydrophilic spinning mass or the more hydrophilic of the two spinningmasses can have an ethoxylated polysiloxane added to it as ahydrophilization agent, in an amount of approximately 1-5% by weight, tofacilitate splitting or to increase the incompatibility of the twopolymers used in the splitting phase. All of the known fiber and/orfilament cross-section shapes can be used for the voluminous non-wovenfabric according to the present invention. Examples are round, oval,square and/or trilobe shapes. Furthermore, fibers and/or filaments withchannel-like recesses in their surface are also included. The splitmicrofibers and/or filaments normally have a cross-section with theshape of pieces of cake.

[0022] Preferably, the voluminous non-woven fabric is one where thetemperature that triggers shrinkage of the multifilament yarn liesapproximately 25° C. below the plastification temperature of thosefibers and/or filaments in the non-woven fabric with the lowestplastification point. In a normal case, the non-woven fabric carrierthrough which the multifilament yarn is shot does not suffer any areashrinkage. According to the present invention, the length reduction ofthe textured multifilament yarn is greater than the area reduction ofthe non-woven fabric due to inherent shrinkage in the direction of themultifilament yarn that is shot through. The fiber pile can also have aproportion of shrinkage fiber, such as physically modified polyesteraverage-shrinkage fibers or polyester high-shrinkage fibers, added toit. In this connection, the proportion of these shrinkage fibers isselected to be so low that during the shrinkage process, the areashrinkage of the non-woven fabric in the preferential direction in whichthe multifilament yarn is shot through is lower than the reduction inlength of the multifilament yarn. The polyester shrinkage fiberproportion in the non-woven fabric lies in the range of 3 to 40% byweight, preferably in the range of 5 to 25% by weight. With thisadditive, the integrity of the non-woven fabric with the multifilamentyarn shot through it can be additionally increased, thereby improvingthe friction wear resistance during the wiping process.

[0023] A voluminous non-woven fabric where the non-woven fabric isstretched crosswise to the machine direction is especially preferred.Re-orientation of the basic non-woven fabric into the third dimensioncan be reinforced in that stretching of the non-woven fabric with themultifilament yarn shot through is stretched crosswise to the machinedirection. For this purpose, the known methods for crosswise stretchingof flat structures can be used, but stretching by passing the non-wovenfabric with the multifilament yarn shot through over stretching rollersis preferred, since this process is particularly gentle on the material,in contrast to the use of stretching frames, and results in a uniformdistribution of the crosswise forces over the width of the textile web.Furthermore, by stretching the non-woven fabric in the crosswisedirection, it is possible to partially eliminate or loosen up bonds orreciprocal mechanical anchor points of the fibers and/or filaments,thereby achieving an additional significant increase in the softness andflexibility of the voluminous non-woven fabric according to the presentinvention. An additional effect of stretching the non-woven fabric inthe crosswise direction is the greater area of the finished material,which is proportional to the stretching factor, and thereby aneconomically efficient increase in the productivity of the overallprocess. In this connection, the stretching factor is defined as thequotient of the width of the textile web after the stretching processand the width of the textile web before the stretching process.

[0024] Preferably, the voluminous non-woven fabric is one whereapproximately 20% by weight of the fibers and/or filaments areinherently hydrophilic, and the remaining portion are synthetic fibersand/or filaments, totaling 100% by weight. The starting fibers and/orfilaments for the non-woven fabric can consist of one or morecomponents. In this connection, a proportion of approximately 20% byweight of those fibers and/or filaments that are permanently hydrophilicare used. The hydrophilia of the fibers and/or filaments can bepolymer-inherent, as is the case, for example, for fibers on a cellulosebasis or polyamide basis. However, it can also be brought about by theaddition of a hydrophilization agent to the melt of the polymer thatforms the fibers, before it is spun. According to the present invention,the term “permanently hydrophilic” means a fabric made of fibers and/orfilaments where the hydrophilization components reach the fiber surface,from the fiber interior, by migration, during storage. Fibers with“inherent hydrophilia” are preferably viscose rayon staple fibers, forexample from cellulose fibers spun in solution in N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (lyocell, cotton, or viscose staple fibers). Thelyocell fibers can be smooth or crimped. According to the presentinvention, proportions of less than 20% by weight inherently hydrophilicfibers can also be used, but there is the risk that in the case of afolded wet wipe cloth that is folded and stacked, the aqueous emulsionfor skin care with which the cloth is impregnated will accumulate in thebottom layers during storage. As a tendency, this would cause the toplayers to dry out, and thereby have a detrimental effect on their wipingproperties as well as the release of skin-care substances during thewiping process.

[0025] A voluminous non-woven fabric where at least part of thesynthetic fibers and/or filaments are made to be hydrophilic isespecially preferred. The not inherently hydrophilic fibers and/orfilaments that make up the remaining portion of fibers and/or filaments,totaling 100% by weight, are preferably of an entirely synthetic nature.In the case of endless filaments, these are subsequently madehydrophilic, in the non-woven fabric, using known surfactant substances.In this connection, the adhesion of externally applied hydrophilizationagents and the duration of the hydrophilic effect are decisivelydetermined by the chemistry of the surfactant agent used, and thesurface properties of the fiber and/or filament material.

[0026] Preferably, the voluminous non-woven fabric is one that containsat least a proportion of superabsorbent fibers and/or filaments orfibers and/or filaments whose core is coated with a superabsorbentpolymer. The use of superabsorbent fibers and/or filaments or fibersand/or filaments coated with superabsorbent polymer improves theabsorption capacity of the non-woven fabric according to the presentinvention.

[0027] Preferably, the voluminous non-woven fabric is furthermore onethat contains crimped and dyed fibers and/or filaments. The fibers orfilaments of the non-woven fabric can be smooth or crimped in two orthree dimensions, or crimped fibers or filaments can be mixed withnon-crimped ones. Preferably, however, crimped fibers or filaments areused, since these improve the absorption capacity. Depending on thepurpose of use, the fibers and/or filaments can be colorless or dyed inthe spinning mass with dye and/or white pigment. In this connection,part of the fibers can be textile-dyed before or after formation of thenon-woven fabric, or after completion of the shrunk voluminous non-wovenfabric with the multifilament yarn shot through.

[0028] Preferably, the voluminous non-woven fabric is one that isimpregnated with a lubricant such as silicone oil. Furthermore, thenon-woven fabric can additionally contain a proportion of siliconizedfibers or fibers with other lubricants. However, the lubricant can alsobe applied to the non-woven fabric afterwards, either after it is formedor after it is bonded to produce a flat textile structure. By applying alubricant such as silicone oil, for example, to the fibers andmultifilaments of the non-woven fabric before shooting a multifilamentyarn through it, the friction of the sewing needles against thenon-woven fabric when the multifilament yarn is shot through can bereduced.

[0029] A voluminous non-woven fabric that has two different sides, interms of their composition and/or their structure, is especiallypreferred. For this purpose, the non-woven fabric is composed of severaldifferent fiber and/or filament layers, which have been joined togetherto form a composite, even before the multifilament yarn is shot through,using known bonding techniques. By using different fiber or filamentlayers on the two main sides of the voluminous non-woven fabric,different fluid absorption and wiping properties can be achieved, andthey can be used accordingly. For example, by using a voluminousnon-woven fabric with different sides, a differentiation can be madebetween pre-cleaning and subsequent cleaning. Furthermore, in this wayit is easier for the user to differentiate, optically and via othersensory properties, which side of the non-woven fabric according to thepresent invention is supposed to be used for the absorption of dirtparticles and therefore for an optimum wiping effect.

[0030] A voluminous non-woven fabric that is folded once or severaltimes is especially preferred. The folded shape is used for wiping,cleaning, and body care purposes. Volume-stable disposable cloths with avery great absorption capacity are obtained, particularly in foldedform.

[0031] A voluminous non-woven fabric that is impregnated with a cleaningor care emulsion is especially preferred. Preferably, aqueous emulsions,for example, are applied to the voluminous non-woven fabric for thispurpose. Furthermore, after shrinkage, binders can be applied on one orboth sides, using known methods. For this purpose, aqueous syntheticdispersions are preferably used, with wetting agents and/orhydrophilizing polymers added to them to improve their hydrophilicproperties. The binder can additionally be used as a carrier for colorpigmentation, such as a white pigmentation of the product, for example.Furthermore, abrasive, inorganic particles such as corundum can also beadded to the binder, in order to achieve an abrasive effect during thewiping or cleaning process, at least on one side. In this case, thepolymer dispersions used are those that result in a very hard film. Inthis connection, the polymer binder can also be applied using afull-bath dipping process.

[0032] The voluminous non-woven fabric according to the presentinvention is preferably used as a wiping, cleaning, or body care cloth.

[0033]FIG. 1 schematically shows a voluminous non-woven fabric 1according to the present invention, where the original non-woven fabric2 has been buckled to form waves 3, which are composed of elevations 4and valleys 5. Direction A-A represents the machine direction or warpdirection. Multifilament yarns 6, which are oriented in the warpdirection, textured, and shrunk, are shot through non-woven fabric 2 atpositions 7, and form stitches 8. Regions 9 of multifilament yarn 6,between stitches 8, i.e. between positions 7, which regions are orientedin direction A-A, are elastic.

[0034] Yarn regions 9 shown in FIG. 2 are composed of multifilamentthreads 6 that have been strongly textured using shrinkage, with astructure similar to spiral springs, giving the product outstandingsoftness and elasticity. Non-woven fabric 2 with its waves 3, composedof elevations 4 and valleys 5, is preferably made up of crimped fibers10, which have been intensively entangled using water jets. FIG. 2 showsthe case of a symmetrical undulation 3, where yarn regions 12 and 13 onthe right and left of maximum height 11 of waves 3 each make up half thelength of yarn region 9. In this connection, maximum wave height 11 isdefined as the distance of yarn region 9 from elevations 4 of waves 3.

[0035]FIG. 3 shows an asymmetrical undulation 3 of non-woven fabric 2,where maximum height 11 of waves 3 is shifted in the direction of one ofyarn regions 12 or 13. Such a case can occur if the voluminous non-wovenfabric is pressed or subjected to friction after the shrinkage process.

[0036] The textured threads wound up on warp beams are shot through thenon-woven fabric using known methods, preferably only in the warpdirection, where the limits and gauges already described above must beadhered to with regard to non-woven fabric parameters (weight,structure, pre-bonding method, etc.) and working parameters (type oftextured yarns, total titer in dtex, mesh number/cm).

[0037] After the textured multifilament yarns are shot through, the flatstructure is exposed to moist treatment for shrinkage, in supersaturatedsteam in boiling or almost boiling water, or to hot-water treatment in apressure container (for example similar to a textile polyesterdispersion dyeing process). Temperatures above 100° C. are suitable, butthey are less preferred for cost reasons.

[0038] The selection of the temperature for yarn shrinkage in the flatstructure is based on the composition of the non-woven fabric and thetextured multifilament yarn. The temperature and its dwell time arepreferably selected in such a way that the non-woven fabric itself isnot subject to any area shrinkage, and it is exclusively the texturedyarn that suffers a reduction in length due to shrinkage. Therefore notonly should the textured multifilament yarns used preferably be composedof filaments that have a relatively high melting point or plastificationpoint, such as polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate,polyamide 6, or polyamide 6.6, for example, or bicomponent yarns made upof two of these fiber filaments, but also the fibers of the non-wovenfabric should be composed of thermally stable fiber material. Thewave-like structure that is necessary for the invention prohibits theuse of the same polymer both in the non-woven fabric and in the texturedyarn. Preferably, the fibers used in the non-woven fabric are alsoeither not thermoplastic or they are fibers that do not decompose at theshrinkage temperature of the yarn, or fibers with a higher meltingpoint, such as polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate,polyamide 6, or polyamide 6.6, or bicomponent yarns made up of two ofthese polymers, or mixtures of the said fibers.

[0039] The flat goods are subsequently either folded in the dry stateand/or provided with an aqueous care lotion impregnation, then foldedinto shape, and placed in hard, shape-stable and re-sealable plasticboxes (“dispenser box”) as a stack, or a stack of several folded clothsis sealed into flexible plastic bags (“re-fill pack”).

EXAMPLE 1

[0040] A carded staple fiber pile composed of 60% viscose staple fiberdtex 1.5/40 mm and 40% polyester dtex 1.5/38 mm, based on polyethyleneterephthalate, is placed on a conveyor belt and passed to the waterremoval screen of a high-pressure hydraulic entangling device. The metalscreen has a fine mesh and has the mesh number 100. After beingpre-wetted with water, the fiber pile is first treated on one side withaimed high-pressure water jets, then turned over and entangled on theother side with high-pressure water jets. Subsequently, excess water issuctioned off by passage through a vacuum slit, up to a residualmoisture of 98%. Subsequently, drying takes place in a so-called beltdryer. On the winding apparatus, a mass per unit area of thehydraulically entangled non-woven fabric of 49 g/m² is obtained.

[0041] The hydraulically entangled non-woven fabric is shot through, inthe warp direction, with textured polyester multifilament yarns, on araschel machine. These yarns are composed of 36 individual filamentswith an individual titer of 1.39 dtex, resulting in a total titer of 50dtex for the yarn.

[0042] The yarns that are shot through in the warp direction have a meshnumber in the warp direction (=machine running direction) of 2/cm. Thenumber of yarns shot through parallel to one another is 18/inch(7.11/cm). The mass per unit area after the multifilament yarns are shotthrough in the warp direction is 61.8 g/m².

[0043] In a third process step, the non-woven fabric with themultifilament yarn shot through is subjected to thermal shrinkagetreatment at 140° C., over a period of 20 seconds. Under theseconditions, a reduction in the length of the textured yarns in thewarp-shot non-woven fabric by 16% and an undulating structure of thelatter are achieved. This results in a mass per area unit of 73.6 g/m².

EXAMPLE 2

[0044] The composition of the hydraulically entangled non-woven fabricand the conditions of shooting through the textured polyester yarns, aswell as their mesh number and yarn number per unit of length, areidentical. The only difference is that instead of dry thermal treatment,moist thermal treatment with supersaturated steam at 125° C. and a dwelltime of 20 seconds was carried out.

[0045] This results in clearly greater shrinkage in the machine runningdirection, in comparison with Example 1. At 24.5% it had a clearly morepronounced wave structure than in Example 1. The width of the fabricremains unchanged, so that a total area shrinkage of 24.5% and a massper unit area of 81.8 g/m² were obtained.

EXAMPLE 3

[0046] The fiber mixture of the hydraulically entangled non-woven fabricproduced in Example 1 was exchanged for one composed of 100% viscosestaple fiber dtex 1.5/38 mm, and the dry weight after hydraulicentanglement was reduced from 49 to 20 g/m². After shooting through theyarn, as described in Example 1, steam shrinkage takes place as inExample 2. The mass per unit area after warp shooting is 32.2 g/m².

[0047] A shrinkage, i.e. length reduction in the flat goods of 50.3%occurred, in the machine running direction. The finished material weightwas 64.8 g/m².

EXAMPLE 4

[0048] Endless filaments are extruded from the melt, quenched withcooling air streams, then stretched to a titer of 1.7 dtex usingdirected air streams, and then placed on a conveyer belt to produce anon-bonded endless filament non-woven fabric.

[0049] In cross-section, the endless filaments demonstrate a cake-likestructure with a total of 16 pieces of cake, where larger and smallerpieces of cake alternate in a regular sequence. The larger pieces ofcake are composed of polyamide 6.6, and the smaller ones of polyethyleneterephthalate, so that the total of 16 pieces of cake are divided upinto 8 large ones made of polyamide 6.6 and 8 small ones made ofpoylethylene terephthalate. The weight proportions of the so-called PIEfibers are 65% polyamide 6.6 and 35% polyethylene terephthalate.

[0050] An anti-static agent, i.e. a hydrophilization agent, was added tothe spinning mass of the polyamide 6.6 portion.

[0051] The non-bonded endless filament non-woven fabric was passed to ahydraulic entanglement unit as in Example 1.

[0052] Here, high-pressure hydraulic entanglement resulted not only inintensive entanglement of the fibers with one another, but also insplitting of the fibers, up to a degree of splitting of approximately93%. The degree of splitting was roughly determined by counting out theresulting microfibers under a raster electron microscope. The titer ofthe microfibers on the basis of polyamide 6.6 and polyethyleneterephthalate is calculated at 0.138 dtex for polyamide 6.6 and 0.074for polyethylene terephthalate with the pie configuration (16-part pie)and the total titer of the non-split endless filaments. The specificdensity of polyamide 6.6 is 1.14, and that of polyethylene terephthalateis 1.37 g/m², resulting in a calculated fiber count of 3.92 μm forpolyamide 6.6 microfibers, and 2.62 μm for polyethylene terephthalatemicrofibers.

[0053] After drying of the hydraulically entangled non-woven fabric thatwas split into microfibers, with a weight of 34 g/m², texturedmultifilament polyester yarns are shot through in the machine runningdirection, as described in Examples 1-3. Then the goods are subjected tocontact-free, air-borne hot air treatment at 210° C. over a period of 10seconds.

[0054] This resulted in undulation and a length shrinkage/lengthreduction of 32.2%. The mass per unit area of the finished material was69.3 g/m².

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE A

[0055] Example 1 after hydraulic entanglement is used as ComparativeExample A.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE B

[0056] Comparative Example B corresponds to Example 1 after hydraulicentanglement, with the difference that instead of the fine 100 meshscreen in the hydraulic entanglement device, a coarse screen with 20mesh was used. This resulted in a non-woven fabric with a perforatedstructure. Mass per Water Shrink- unit Thickness absorption age in Testarea in mm in g/m² HZK N/5 cm % charact- in 1- 4- 1- 4- length crosslenght- eristic g/m² ply ply ply ply wise wise wise Example 1 73.6 1.847.12 863 3374 65.3 12.1 16.0 Example 2 81.8 1.93 6.93 952 3467 238 10.124.5 Example 3 64.8 2.07 7.98 935 3838 84.9  3.8 50.3 Example 4 69.31.87 7.05 289 1176 56.2 25.3 32.2 Example 49 0.91 4.05 577 2366 79.116.3 0 A Example 54 1.04 4.36 542 2205 93.2 18.8 0 B

What is claimed is:
 1. A voluminous non-woven fabric having a texturedyarn shot through it, at least in one preferential direction,comprising: an endless filament or staple fiber non-woven fabric havinga density of 5 to 100 g/m² and a textured multifilament yarn having atiter in the range of 10 to 400 dtex shot through the fabric, whereinthe multifilament yarns are separated from one another by a distance of1/cm to 10/cm and the mesh number is 0.5/cm to 8/cm, and themultifilament yarn threads are shrunk by 3 to 80%, using moist-thermalor wet-thermal treatment.
 2. The voluminous non-woven fabric accordingto claim 1, wherein: the endless filament or staple fiber non-wovenfabric has a density of 7 to 60 g/m²; the textured multifilament yarnhas a titer in the range of 30 to 300 dtex; the distance of themultifilament fibers from one another is 3/cm to 7/cm; the mesh numberis 0.5/cm to 4/cm; and the multifilament yarn threads have been shrunkby 5 to 60%.
 3. The voluminous non-woven fabric according to claim 1,wherein the endless filament or staple fiber non-woven fabric has adensity of 10 to 40 g/m² and is provided with a bonding pattern thatcovers part of the surface, covering 2 to 35% of the surface, andwherein the multifilament yarn threads are shrunk by 8 to 35%.
 4. Thevoluminous non-woven fabric according to claim 2, wherein the endlessfilament or staple fiber non-woven fabric has a density of 10 to 40 g/m²and is provided with a bonding pattern that covers part of the surface,covering 2 to 35% of the surface, and wherein the multifilament yarnthreads are shrunk by 8 to 35%.
 5. The voluminous non-woven fabricaccording to claim 3, wherein the bonding pattern that covers part ofthe surface covers 4 to 25% of the surface.
 6. The voluminous non-wovenfabric according to claim 1, wherein the titer of the fibers orfilaments of the non-woven fabric is from 0.05 to 4.4 dtex, and where upto 20% by weight of the total fibers and/or filaments can have a coarsertiter than 4.4 dtex, provided that the arithmetically determined averageof the fiber and/or filament titer of all the fibers and/or filaments inthe non-woven fabric does not exceed 4.4 dtex.
 7. The voluminousnon-woven fabric according to claim 1, wherein shrinkage of themultifilament yarn is triggered at a temperature at least 25° C. belowthe plastification temperature of those fibers or filaments in thenon-woven fabric haaving the lowest plastification range.
 8. Thevoluminous non-woven fabric according to claim 1, wherein the non-wovenfabric is stretched crosswise to the machine running direction.
 9. Thevoluminous non-woven fabric according to claim 1, wherein at least 20%by weight of the total fibers and/or filaments are inherentlyhydrophilic, and the remaining portion of the total fibers and/orfilaments are synthetic.
 10. The voluminous non-woven fabric accordingto claim 8, wherein at least a part of the synthetic fibers and/orfilaments are made to be hydrophilic.
 11. The voluminous non-wovenfabric according to claim 1, wherein at least some of the fibers orfilaments are superabsorbent or have a core which is coated with asuperabsorbent polymer.
 12. The voluminous non-woven fabric according toclaim 1, wherein it contains crimped and dyed fibers or filaments. 13.The voluminous non-woven fabric according to claim 1, wherein it isimpregnated with a silicone oil lubricant.
 14. The voluminous non-wovenfabric according to claim 1, wherein it has two sides that are differentin their composition or their structure.
 15. The voluminous non-wovenfabric according to claim 1, wherein it is folded at least once.
 16. Thevoluminous non-woven fabric according to claim 1, wherein it isimpregnated with a cleaning or care emulsion.
 17. A wiping, cleaning, orbody care cloth comprising the voluminous non-woven fabric according toclaim 1.